


too late to run away

by stilljunhui (acyria)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adding that tag just to be safe, Alternate Universe, Boys Kissing, Friends to Lovers, Lowkey pining anyway, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Pining, Polyamory, Road Trips, Underage Drinking, again because I can and because YES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 18:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16770622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acyria/pseuds/stilljunhui
Summary: They’ve known each other practically forever; it made no sense for him to want to memorize every inch of the other boy’s face like it was his first and last time seeing it.Drip by drip, the fate of three boys were meant to converge sooner or later. All it took was Jaemin batting his long lashes at Mark and dragging Jeno along with him, on a road trip to escape the city heat. If only they could escape their feelings the same way, but then again, they never found the need to dothat.





	too late to run away

**Author's Note:**

> As the tag says, the following is non-linear, and while there's a chronological order in there somewhere, I think it's best read this way. It’s also in snippets that jump from each of the boys’ point of view. This is my first time writing something with this format, but it just felt fit with the plot I had in mind. Also it’s my second Marknomin fic in less than 24 hours since I wrote the first one, so you can tell that somebody’s highly inspired. I also had no idea how to write the summary so !!!
> 
> I wrote this with their real ages in mind so Mark’s 19 and Nomin’s 18; while that’s technically legal where I am, it’s not legal everywhere, hence the underage drinking tag just to be safe.
> 
> Title is from NCT Dream's Drippin' again. I did say I was going to use that song a lot.

( 1 )

Something’s always been brewing in the air, but it’s not something Jaemin had figured out yet.

If there were ever going to be a time wherein he could get his thoughts straight, lay down the facts and come up with some sort of explanation, then there was no time like the present. However, presently, he was also much too distracted—seated in the back of Mark’s family car with the older boy driving, belting his lungs out to the girl group song playing on the radio while Jeno dozed off next to him, it was a little hard to come up with a solid conclusion. 

Other than trying to keep up with the radio, Jaemin was also distracted by everything else that happened in the tiny car he was in. For one, he found it weird that Jeno could sleep peacefully amidst the noise both the car and himself were making. There was also the case of how Mark could focus on driving well when the older boy was also humming along to the radio. Jaemin never pegged himself as the type who could multitask like that, and even just thinking of all those things at once made his head hurt.

So he focused on getting the lyrics to Sunmi’s Gashina correctly and left it at that.

( 2 )

“Are you sure this is the best idea?” Mark asked for what was probably the hundredth time that day. It was probably too late to ask though, since he was in the process of piling up their bags in the back of his dad’s car. His best friends in the whole wide world had managed to convince him to drive three hours up a mountain to escape the city heat. Where they were going wasn’t that much colder, but it was still colder somewhat, and they’ll take what they can get.

He blamed Jaemin completely.

The younger boy whined about the heat on a daily basis, until it eventually affected Jeno, who didn’t even mind the heat as much.

Honestly, Mark could just as easily blame himself, since he could never say no to Jaemin anyway. Not since they were kids, not even when they went to the same high school, and definitely not now, when they were both old enough to be called handsome instead of cute. It didn’t help that Jeno was added into that mix, too. That just meant there was an additional person Mark couldn’t say no to, and with both of them claiming that a weekend getaway was a _must_ , well it took little to convince him.

It didn’t seem like a problem until Mark realized the younger two were going to enjoy sitting in the backseat, playing games with each other, while he had to drive by himself since he was the only one old enough to get a license. 

“It’s absolutely the best idea,” Jaemin said, throwing in a bag filled with snacks that joined the ones that had their clothes. “Right, Jeno?”

“Absolutely.”

It took _very_ little to convince him.

( 3 )

Not for the first time that night, Jeno found himself staring at his friend’s face for more than necessary. 

They’ve known each other practically forever; it made no sense for him to want to memorize every inch of the other boy’s face like it was his first and last time seeing it. The way dark lashes framed even darker eyes, the golden hue of his skin, the curve of his lips—ah, well, that was dangerous territory for sure. Jeno usually shook himself out of it before things got worse. What kind of friend would stare at his friend’s lips, right? 

He knew the answer, though.

The kind of friend who’s been in love in his best friend since practically forever.

( 4 )

“This isn’t how I imagined tonight to go,” Jaemin said, meaning every bit of it. 

His eyes were still a little blurry, everything around him afflicting his senses more than usual. Whatever light that managed to enter the room felt like it was too bright, no matter how little, and it made him want to crawl under a dozen blankets and disappear. It was a tempting thought, followed by the realization that he could just as easily do so, if it weren’t for the weight pressing down on him right across his stomach.

How did he even get in this mess?

Not that he would call it a mess, exactly. Along with the dazed feeling he had, there was also the bubbly feeling of joy. Just that, pure joy, radiating happiness in the way Jaemin couldn’t help but smile. He’s been smiling so much his face hurt, but that was okay. It was fine, since he knew if he were to glance at his friends’ faces that they looked just as stupid as he was, with matching dumb grins. Friends. Best friends. Boy friends?

“Definitely not how I imagined _anything_ would go,” he continued honestly. 

“You and me both, Nana.”

( 5 )

Nights like these were what Mark lived for; after ordering pizza and chicken, all three of them settled on the couch, trying to decide on a movie to watch. Jeno named every possible superhero movie he could, but Jaemin was adamant about wanting an animated Disney movie specifically, which meant sooner or later Mark was going to be brought in to decide. It was kind of weird that he felt so happy about the situation, but it was less about how the other two bickered and more about just how he felt being with the two of them.

It always felt a little like it was where he belonged.

Besides, sooner or later the movie was going to be forgotten once the drinks came out. 

That was another thing he liked, too, although not one he often admitted. Mark wasn’t the type to go clubbing and get black out drunk—none of them were, but they did all have _at least_ one instance of that happening, never to be discussed again—but a chill night of drinking and talking about life was always nice. They talked often, maybe even too much at times, but everything was just different with alcohol in their system.

For Mark, it made him way too giggly that it would have been downright embarrassing, but he knew neither of the other two would make fun of him for it.

Maybe that was what he liked the best, just being with people who wouldn’t judge him no matter what, people he loved and cared for, people he would give the world to if they asked. Well, if both of them asked, he would divide the world. Actually, even if just one of the two asked, Mark would probably still give the remaining boy a part of the world. That was just the way he thought about things and about Jaemin and Jeno, who were looking at him with matching curious expressions.

“What?”

“We were asking you for your movie choice for the at least two minutes now,” Jaemin said pointedly. “It’s either Marvel or Disney and _no_ , I know Marvel is under Disney, but you know what I mean.”

Without missing a beat, Jeno added, “he had to add that clause otherwise we _all_ know a Marvel movie would win tonight.”

Just like always, Mark never could choose.

( 6 )

“I call dibs on this bed!”

“Jaemin, that’s the _only_ bed.”

His words were meant to sound annoyed, but Jeno couldn’t help but say them affectionately instead, as he watched the way Jaemin rolled around said bed with a pout on his lips. He didn’t really have a right to be annoyed, anyway, since it was his fault they ended up with a one bed room cottage instead of the supposed three. Well, he was blind without his glasses and they made him book the place at 2AM; the mistake was slightly justifiable. Besides, it wasn’t that big of an issue. The bed was large enough to fit all three of them and maybe even a fourth person if they tried. It wouldn’t be the first time they shared, either.

Mark let out a low whistle as he entered the bedroom after them.

“Still a pretty nice place, despite the situation,” he said with a pleased smile, patting the back of Jeno’s head as he passed by the younger boy. “Nice pick, Jeno.”

There it was _again._ Jeno mentally scolded himself at the way his body involuntarily followed after Mark’s hand, as he hoped the older boy didn’t notice. It’s been happening way too much and way too often. He didn’t want to be obvious about his feelings; actually, make that he couldn’t be obvious about his feelings, because Mark was his best friend and Mark was also clearly into Jaemin more and Jeno didn’t blame him.

Really, he couldn’t, since he was pretty sure he felt the same.

The difference with his crush on Jaemin and his crush on Mark was that the former was always there; Jeno had pretty much grown up fawning over Jaemin, something that he just never grew out of. Meanwhile, his crush on the older boy hit him like a truck all of a sudden. It threw him off, made him way too conscious all the time, and always unprepared for the wave of emotions he would get. 

Jaemin? Well, Jaemin’s always been pretty and soft and sweet, despite the snark that came with it sometimes. He’s always been the same, always been so constant, and it calmed Jeno to know that he could count on that to never change. Meanwhile, there was Mark, who could act like he was younger than the two one day and then act like he was the manliest guy out there the next day. He wasn’t, for the record, and Jeno was sure of _that_. 

His mind was sure of that, but his heart wasn’t, and threatened to jump out of his chest at the smallest contact.

( 7 )

At some point that night, Jaemin had given up trying to understand.

It was hard to keep his thoughts straight after he was just kissed by both of his best friends, who were in turn, currently kissing each other. Was this the missing piece he hadn’t figured out this whole time? Was this what was hidden behind Jeno’s lingering gaze? And the way Mark’s eyes would flick down to his lips in the middle of conversations sometimes? Jaemin felt like he wasn’t supposed to understand what was happening; like it just wasn’t normal, but truth of the situation was that he did understand. 

Maybe a little too well.

The fact that he couldn’t keep his eyes away from either boys in front of him spoke measures about _just how much_ he understood.

( 8 ) 

The first time Mark realized he had a crush on Jeno was during their high school prom night, a whole two years ago. 

They all went stag—such was tradition—but that didn’t mean that the boys didn’t dress up for the event. It was still supposed to be a memorable night for everybody, after all. All three of them arrived dressed to the nines in their best suit and tie, hair slicked back, shoes polished. It was no secret that Jeno was good looking, but Mark never thought he could look that good, and the realization left him a little speechless for most of the night.

If asked, he would easily admit that it was Jeno who caught his eyes first that night, but that didn’t mean that Jaemin didn’t follow soon after.

He didn’t think much about it when it happened and continued not to mind it as the night wore on and the days passed. His mentality was always that there was nothing _wrong_ with finding his best friends handsome, maybe just a little cliche. It wasn’t something Mark was ever going to say out loud unless asked, nor was it something that he felt the need to do something about. There was nothing more he could ask for, he figured, since he already always had the two by his side.

( 9 )

Jeno wasn’t really asleep. 

He didn’t think it was possible, with the way Mark drove like a mad man and the way Jaemin was practically yelling out song after song. He did know that he could fall asleep if he tried, and thathe would be hard to wake up if he ever did fall asleep, and that the other two probably already thought he was gone hours ago. Still, the truth was that while he kept his eyes closed, he kept the rest of his senses on high alert.

It wasn’t the first time all three of them went on a road trip, but it was the first time Jeno felt so nervous about everything. 

He wanted to relax. Some part of him was relaxed, to be fair, but the rest of him was yelling for him to open his eyes and stare at the two boys he shared the car with. He could stare at Mark as the older boy drove, eyes focused on the road. He could stare at Jaemin, with his hair pink and fluffy, his lips moving by the second. It’s the last part that made Jeno firmly shut his eyes. He’s been staring at Jaemin’s lips way too often.

“We’re here, Jaem, wake Jeno up.”

Jeno braced himself for the movement that would follow, which consisted of Jaemin’s warm hand tapping his cheek multiple times. 

“Jeno. Jeno. Hey, Jeno. Wake up, Jeno. The car is on fire, Jeno. We have to escape, Jeno,” came Jaemin’s voice along with it, tone light and airy, like he was having the time of his life despite the words that came out of his mouth. When he still got no response, he began to shake the other boy’s shoulder roughly. “Do you need some coffee, Jeno?”

“I don’t need burnt rubber,” the brunette replied cheekily, faking a sleepy yawn as he cracked his eyes open. Jeno was met with Jaemin’s face a lot closer to his than he anticipated, but he couldn’t escape since his back was pressed against the car door. His eyes had nowhere to land but on the other boy’s face, where a smile was beginning to bloom despite the quip about coffee.

“Do you need to be kissed awake, then?”

Tempting, but Jeno ignored the way his heart skipped a beat at the question—something Jaemin _always_ asked—in favour of pushing the boy away with a laugh, “I’m awake, get off me.”

( 10 )

Alcohol and feelings should never go hand in hand. Especially feelings that have been brewing for over a decade. Feelings that Jaemin at some point of his life wished would go away. He didn’t want to be _that_ friend who would ruin things just because his heart insisted on what he couldn’t have. It was easier to take his feelings by throat, wrangle it into a box, and tuck the box away in some dark corner of his mind, never to be touched again.

The problem with that metaphor was that the box could easily be opened by a bottle of soju.

They were midway watching the fourth Harry Potter movie when Mark had disappeared into the kitchen, only to come back with three bottles of soju and a pack of Yakult. Initially, Jaemin thought it was a little early to be busting out the green bottles, but a quick glance at the clock told him that time moved faster than he thought. Besides, they could all use the excuse that alcohol muddied up their system as they cried over Cedric Diggory. 

Half a bottle of soju later, Jaemin found himself leaning his whole body weight onto Mark, who was trying his best to sit upright. 

“Did it _have_ to be Harry’s blood that brought him back?” Jeno asked, seated on the younger boy’s other side. “Seems pretty dramatic to me.”

“He’s the Dark Lord, Jeno,” Mark said in between sips of his drink and giggles that followed it. “He’s _supposed_ to be dramatic.”

For the first time that day, Jaemin decided to keep quiet. It had a lot to do with the way his cheeks were flushed pink, although he was trying to decide if it was only because of the alcohol, or if the way Jeno’s arm was around his shoulder had anything to do with it. It might also be the way his legs were pressed against Mark’s as they shared the couch. There was definitely enough free space for them to sit comfortably, but personal space didn’t exist when it came to the three of them.

It disappeared even more when the three of them were tipsy, but Jaemin didn’t want to think of that either.

( 11 )

When Mark woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the heavy pounding in his head. 

The complaints about his hangover quickly disappeared when he took in the rest of his surroundings, though. He had one arm across Jaemin’s chest, their legs tangled underneath what little of the blanket remained. Resting above his arm was Jeno’s, who also had his fingers intertwined with Jaemin’s, with the latter sleeping peacefully despite being crowded in the middle. Both of the younger boys were still asleep, which meant Mark had more quiet time to himself.

He was, without a doubt, absolutely happy.

Mark also really needed to use the bathroom, but getting himself free from the other two without waking them up was going to be a problem.

( 12 )

The first time Jeno realized he wanted to kiss Jaemin was when they were just fourteen years old. It was a very innocent thought, something that followed the way he always knew Jaemin was different than everybody else around him. Well, except maybe Mark. The two were the same in a sense—both _very_ important to Jeno—yet also very different. A good kind of different, perhaps. Either way, Jeno realizing he liked Jaemin didn’t change much.

When they were fifteen, Jaemin confessed to Jeno.

He confessed that he might be liking Mark in a way that best friends shouldn’t. 

“It’s weird, right?” Jaemin said with a laugh, trying his best to dissipate the awkwardness in the air. He was looking down at his feet, his legs dangling off the edge of Jeno’s bed, looking much smaller than he was. Jeno wanted to say that it wasn’t weird because if getting a crush on one’s best friend was weird, then wouldn’t that mean he was weird, too? 

When Jeno ended up saying nothing, Jaemin sighed loudly.

“It’ll probably go away, it’s just the puberty talking,” the boy said, more to himself if Jeno had to be honest, quickly dismissing the topic by talking about their earlier soccer game instead.

Later that night, as the two shared Jeno’s bed in what ended up being an impromptu sleepover, the older of the two found that he couldn’t sleep. He could tell that Jaemin wasn’t asleep yet either, since he was barely moving. Jaemin always moved in his sleep, always cuddling the closest thing he could. In that case, it was Jeno, which left the boy only slightly disappointed that it wasn’t happening yet. Then again, he was thinking of other things himself. 

He should be jealous of Mark, but there wasn’t a single jealous bone in his body. 

A little later, he heard a sharp intake of breath from Jaemin; Jeno quickly tried his best to make his breathing sound calm and natural. 

“Jeno? What if I said I liked you, too? Is that okay?”

After a few minutes of silence, Jaemin sighed. He twisted and turned on the bed for what felt like forever—Jeno was careful to remain still throughout it all, even with his worry that his quick heartbeat would be heard—until he eventually settled for wrapping his arm around the other boy. _About time_ , Jeno thought to himself, knowing that there was no way Jaemin would fall asleep otherwise.

It’s okay, he also wanted to say. It’s definitely okay.

They never spoke about it again, though.

( 13 )

Jaemin was sure that sooner or later, he was going to melt away.

He voiced this out to the other two boys in his room, where all three of them in various positions in front of the electric fan like their lives depended on it. It wasn’t even summer yet, but surely global warming was becoming more apparently, since each day it felt like the sun was growing warmer and warmer. Jeno groaned out a similar complaint, shirt sleeves rolled up in his own desperate attempt to cool down.

“We should go on a road trip,” the youngest said suddenly, sitting up from his spot on the floor. Jaemin turned towards Mark, who was the only one among them who could drive. “What do you say, Mark? You, me, Jeno, a car loaded with drinks and junk food, a cottage on a cool mountain—it sounds amazing, if you ask me.”

“I second the idea,” Jeno piped up.

The eldest, however, looked like he very much didn’t want to do such a thing. 

“Drive up a mountain? Do you actually trust me to do that?” Mark asked pointedly, certain all three of them would be hit by a _certain_ flashback, of a time he drove them all to the nearby amusement park and nearly caused at least six accidents. Granted, that was a year ago when he first got his license, but the memory was still fresh and traumatizing in his mind.

Clearly, Jaemin didn’t care.

“It’ll be _fun_ ,” he insisted. “We trust you! Come on, Mark, please?”

The younger boy also didn’t want to seem like he was getting big headed, but Jaemin was pretty sure Mark wouldn’t say no. All he had to do was jut his lips forward just so, bat his long eyelashes, make his voice a pitch higher—and then complain all day. It was enough to break anybody’s resolve, but Mark’s had always been the easiest. The heat must have been getting to the older boy, too, since it took only a few more minutes before Mark sighed in agreement.

“When do we leave?”

( 14 )

He knew that alcohol could do things to a person, but Mark didn’t think it would affect him enough that he would agree to suddenly playing Truth or Dare, especially where there were only three of them in the entire house. It might have had something to do with how it was Jaemin who asked. He could have easily said no, since there was nothing the three of them kept from each other— _almost_ nothing, anyway—and that made the game much more boring. But Jeno had already agreed, and he didn’t want to spoil the fun.

“Alright, who goes first?”

“I’ll spin!” Jaemin said quickly, spinning the bottle as they all waited for whom it will land on. Again, in Mark’s opinion, not that exciting since they only had two other options. Eventually it stopped with the bottle obviously pointed at Jeno, who pretended that it _wasn’t_ pointed at him for a few seconds before laughing it off. 

Jeno pondered for a while before he shrugged, “hit me with your best dare.”

Anybody could tell that Jaemin was beyond tipsy at that point, if the way his words slurred a bit was anything to go by, along with the obvious flush on his cheeks that reached his ears and even travelled down his neck. Still, despite all this, his eyes remained bright, twinkling with a sort of mischief that people didn’t usually expect from the sweet boy. That just meant that while he was definitely influenced, he wasn’t that gone that he didn’t know what he was doing, which meant his next words were no accident.

“Kiss me,” he said with a bright smile. 

“What?” Jeno asked immediately, but he was laughing despite the odd request, playfully shoving at the younger boy who was already advancing towards him with puckered lips.

“I want a kiss, Jeno!”

“Ask Mark instead.”

At the mention of his name, Mark was brought back to his senses, but not for long. He was in the process of trying to figure out how he was supposed to feel about Jaemin asking Jeno for a kiss, but now that the ball was thrown his way, the only thing he could think of was how much he didn’t mind. Well, he didn’t mind if the former happened, too. All he could think of then was the way his cheeks warmed just by seeing Jaemin stare at him. The younger boy didn’t look embarrassed in the slightest.

“But it’s _your_ dare,” Jaemin said, looking away from Mark as he said so and back towards Jeno, who had managed to stand up from his spot on the couch.

“We’ll both do it,” Jeno replied, still smiling in his trademark way that reached all the way to his eyes. Unlike Jaemin, he didn’t flush red as easily, which meant the pink on his cheeks must have been due to something else and not the alcohol. That just made him all the more obvious, but Mark stored that thought away in favour of focusing on what the younger boy was saying. “How about that, Nana? We’ll _both_ kiss you.”  


There were a lot of things that Mark forgot about that night, but the one thing he was sure he wouldn’t forget would be the way Jaemin’s face practically lit up at the suggestion. His eyes travelled back and forth between the older two, his lips parted in anticipation and surprise, and Mark was tempted to just go for it right then and there. It was like Jaemin was receiving the best gift of his life, and the thought made Mark momentarily shy.

“Sounds great,” the younger boy said a little breathlessly.

When did this become a thing, anyway?

( 15 )

Jeno woke up still tucked next to Jaemin, where he remembered being before he closed his eyes the night before.

For a brief moment, all he felt was bliss, until the reality of the situation dawned on him. Was it too soon to be happy? Granted, last night had been a blur of emotions, but surely it wasn’t something they would wake up and regret, right? He knew himself well enough to know that the answer was a big flat no; he would like to think he knew Jaemin and Mark well enough to expect the same. Still, it would help to have a little reassurance.

The reassurance he was looking for came quickly, in the form of a peck on the forehead from Jaemin the moment the other boy woke up.

“Morning, Jeno!” He greeted, before glancing at the empty spot next to him with a frown. “Where’s Mark?”

“I made breakfast,” came a voice from the doorway that belonged to the missing boy. The eldest among them was looking at the two so fondly that Jeno felt himself blush, as he moved to hide his face further into the crook of Jaemin’s neck, eliciting a soft giggle from the other boy who nudged him gently away.

Jaemin cooed, “is our Jeno getting shy? I think he is!”

“Shut up,” Jeno replied without much bite, words slightly muffled as he buried himself closer to the other boy. He could feel his ears burning from hearing the words _our Jeno_ alone, since he never realized how much he liked hearing it come from Jaemin’s lips, paired with the distant chuckles from Mark in the background. As if everything suddenly made sense. 

( 16 )

Jaemin realized, belatedly, that _this_ was what’s been brewing in the air.


End file.
